Diary of an Arcade Employee

It’s Earth Day. Did your littering make an American Indian cry today?

We didn’t have this “Earth Day” when I was a kid in school. Today it’s all about singing puppets moralizing about recycling and the Cartoon Network broadcasting an all-day marathon of CAPTAIN PLANET. What did we have back in the Seventies? Just a crying indian. And you know what? It did the trick. I don’t litter to this day.

And just who is this “Crying Indian”, the emotional star of this PSA guilt bomb?

He’s Iron Eyes Cody, a Native American Indian who is in actuality 100% Sicilian. Apparently he adopted the Native American Indian lifestyle early on in his life due to his acting career; he was getting a lot of roles portraying indians. Let’s just say he was the ultimate Method actor- seems he never went out of character over a 64 year career in film and television.

Even though the famous “Crying Indian” wasn’t an honest injun about his true heritage, Iron Eyes Cody had been honored by Native American groups for his championing of American Indian causes and issues.

But the greatest irony is that someone named “Iron Eyes” is best known for crying. Perhaps he should’ve been given a more suitable name like “Cries With Trash On Moccasins”?